The Sky and his Sun
by Adriana Espan
Summary: Where Tsuna is the Sky Arcobaleno, and sky arcobalenos look like a teenager who don't age or die. He is not the Vongola Decimo. The question is, if Tsuna and Reborn were together in the past, why did they decide to part ways after becoming Arcobalenos? R27. AU. Follows canon's plot but will skip the parts that are deemed as unnecessary.
1. Chapter I

**This is Experimental fic #2. **

**Prepare for the OC, but I swear Tsuna will be the main character, sort of. Tsuna will be like TYL!Tsuna, or even HDW!Tsuna, i.e. wise and mature Tsuna. The OC… just pretend it's the canon Tsuna hahaha. Hey I even based his name on Tsuna's. I personally hate OCs myself so I would understand the pain.**

**Warning: Time skips in future chapters **

**Disclaimer: Don't own KHR.**

* * *

**Name: Sawada Ietsuna, otherwise known as Ietsu  
Nickname: Dame-Ietsu  
Age: 14  
Gender: Male  
Title: Vongola Decimo  
Parents: Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada Nana.  
Occupation: Student  
Flame Type: Sky  
Appearance: Totally average appearance, with messy blond hair and brown eyes.  
Remarks: Cowardly and useless, but has the potential to become Vongola Decimo. Often bullied, grades are the last in school. He is a nice and kind person though. **_**(Similar to canon Tsuna)**_**  
**

* * *

"Mum, I'm home!" Said Ietsuna as he walked into the house.

"Welcome home, Ie-kun! Oh look, I got a tutor for you! I received a flyer in the mailbox and called him! He's coming today! The flyer said, 'I will raise your child to become the leader of the next generation. I am young and good-looking.' And the best part? It's completely free as long as he has a place to sleep and a meal! How great is that!" Ietsuna watched as his mother babbled on, mouth hanging open.

"What? Why? I don't need a tutor! And it totally sounds like a scam!"

"Sawada Ietsuna, who scored 0 in Math…" Nana said as she waved Ietsuna's test papers in his face.

"What? Mum! How did you know? Where did you get that from!" Ietsuna shouted as he tried to grab for the paper, face red from embarrassment.

"I found it in your drawer today. Now, no buts. Everyone knows that you need a home tutor."

"Mum... -" Ietsu desperately tried to get his mother to change her mind, only to be interrupted by the door bell.

"It must be your tutor! Go get the door, Ie-kun."

Ietsu groaned in frustration as he walked towards the door. As he opened the door, he heard a "Ciaossu!" and without a warning, something landed on his head.

Ietsu lost his balance and fell to the floor, raising his hand to see what was on his head. "Ouch! What-"

Reborn interrupted him once more to introduce himself. "So you are Ietsu? I am Reborn, your new home tutor! Starting from today I'll be looking after you."

"You? You are my tutor? Are you kidding me? Mum! You've been scammed!" Ietsu screamed. Nana just smiled.

Reborn kicked him on his head. "Hieeee!" Ietsu shrieked. Reborn only rolled his eyes at the high-pitched shriek, thinking, _First, we must get rid of that horrid high-pitched shriek. No mafia boss shrieks like that, for god's sake. _He pulled his fedora down and gave a smirk. Now the training shall begin.

"Ie-kun, bring him up your room."

"Mum!" Ietsu protested, but Nana paid no heed to him and walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Ietsu sighed as he walked up to his room, tripping twice on the way. "So clumsy, Dame-Ietsu." Reborn remarked. "What! How did you know my nickname?" Ietsu turned around to face Reborn, only to trip once more.

"Tsk." Reborn frowned at his clumsiness. _Well, it's a bit worse than expected, isn't it? When they say useless… No one can be this useless and clumsy, right? Looks like we got work to do. _"Gathering information is a basic skill, Ietsu."

Ietsu looked like he was going to rebut him but they had reached their room. "This is my room." Ietsu opened the door.

Reborn surveyed the surroundings, and went to sit down on the bed like he owned the place.

"Hey, that's my-"

"Actually, I am the world's greatest hitman."

"-bed..."

Ietsu was going to continue what he was saying, until what the baby said registered in his head. "What? Hahahaha don't make me laugh! You?" Ietsu just laughed in… disbelief.

A green gun glinted in his hand, his customary smirk on his face. He would show him who's boss in the following days.

"And I'm here to train you to become a mafia boss." A bullet shot past Ietsu's head, missing him only by a few millimetres.

"HHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!" A loud, ear-piercing scream was heard throughout the neighbourhood.

* * *

**Name: Reborn  
Age: Unknown  
Gender: Male  
Title: Sun Arcobaleno, World's Greatest Hitman  
Occupation: Hitman, Tutor  
Flame type: Sun  
Appearance: Looks like a baby, with black eyes and spiky black hair, with his trademark curly sideburns and fedora.  
Remarks: Not known for the world's greatest hitman for nothing, he is extremely powerful and his loyalty lies with the Vongola. One of the seven strongest babies on earth and even rumoured to be the strongest Arcobaleno, although no one knows if it is really true. He is also known to be cold, unforgiving and detached, and have few close and trustable friends.  
**

* * *

Reborn watched as Ietsuna desperately tried to finish his math homework while being held at gunpoint. Perspiration was seen dripping down from his forehead and his hand was obviously shaking out of fear.

Reborn just had a smirk on his face as he watched his student suffer.

"Say, Dame-Ietsu, how well do you know Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"Hmm? Sawada-san?" Ietsu looked up. He was clearly glad to have something to distract him from his homework. "Well… I'm not very close to him, and he's not very close to anyone either. In fact, he's pretty invisible most of the times and very… average."

Something hit his head, hard. When did Leon change to a slipper, of all things? Ietsuna just wanted to scream and pull out his hair in frustration. "At least average is better than being useless. By the way, I don't recall asking you to stop doing your homework."

Ietsuna wanted to protest but Reborn had already jumped onto his bed and sat down. He sighed and continued trying to solve the math problem that was ever so confusing.

Reborn pulled down his fedora so that Ietsuna would not see him frowning. He seemed to be contemplating something, with a thoughtful look on his face. When Ietsuna next turned to sneak a peek at him, however, the look was gone in an instant and his usual sadistic-Spartan-tutor-from-hell-smirk was back into place.

"Stop staring at me and do your homework, Dame-Ietsu, before I put a bullet right through your head." He felt a sense of satisfaction and sardonic pleasure as he saw Ietsuna gulped in fear, before he laid down on the bed. "I'm sleeping. Don't make any noise or I'll…" Reborn paused in mid-sentence and a bubble came out of his nose.

_Did he just fall asleep like that! _Ietsuna thought as he stared at Reborn, astonished. _He's so weird and scary! My life… why…_

* * *

Before Reborn had went to Ietsuna's house and met Ietsuna, he had done an extensive research on all the backgrounds of the students in Namimori Middle School, to see which students were suitable candidates to join the Vongola famiglia. Well, as a hitman, gathering information was a basic skill. Furthermore, knowledge is power, and in the world of dangerous mafia, knowledge can make or break you.

He had managed to obtain the students' records from the principal, while cosplaying as Professor Borin. A very useful disguise, yes.

Most students were too ordinary to be in Ietsu's famiglia, but a few did catch his eyes.

_Yamamoto Takeshi, _son of the famous but retired hitman Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, talented at baseball with extremely good reflexes. Reborn would bet that he would be a natural born hitman, given his genes and instincts and reflexes from all the information he can see.

_Hibari Kyoya, _Namimori Middle Disciplinary Committee Leader, was said to be extremely strong, cruel and aloof. Basically everyone in Namimori had heard of his name and fear him. Pretty admirable for a fifteen-year-old, thought Reborn. Definitely a great candidate as a guardian of Ietsu's.

_Sasagawa Ryohei, _Namimori Boxing Club Leader, was an excellent boxer who possesses great strength, and not to forget extremely passionate, according to sources. Way too passionate, most would say. Nevertheless, he was worth considering, with his extremeness.

And last but not least…

_Sawada Tsunayoshi. _

Reborn's eyes widened a fraction. His hands nearly shook and dropped the record, but years of practice as a hitman prevented that.

A normal boy with average grades, average physical fitness, average looks, average social skills. Average, average and average. Everything about him was average, and not a thing about him was abnormal. If Reborn were anyone else he would have overlooked his profile like how he did for the other students, but he didn't.

_Teachers' remarks: Sawada-san is a very polite, kind and nice student. Puts in effort in his work and hands in his work on time, very responsible. However, he does not interact much with other students, and only talk when necessary. Hope to see him to become more sociable as he is a very likeable student. _

That was all. One word to describe him was, simple.

Reborn's eyes strayed to the photo at the top right hand corner of the paper. Brown eyes, spiky brown hair, and somehow he bore a resemblance to the Vongola Decimo candidate.

_He hadn't changed at all, even after so many years._

Reborn let out an uncharacteristic sigh. He knew many things, but Tsuna was one of those things – perhaps even the only one – which Reborn could never understand or for that matter, fathom what he was thinking.

Reborn frowned. _Tsuna, what are you doing here?_

* * *

**Name: Sawada Tsunayoshi  
Age: Unknown, appears to be around 14 to 15, even passable for 18.  
Gender: Male  
Title: Sky Arcobaleno  
Occupation: Unknown  
Flame Type: Sky  
Appearance: Striking resemblance to Ietsu, even having the same surname. They are related, after all. Brown hair that stands up everywhere, and brown eyes that always hold a blank look.  
Remarks: Based on TYL Tsuna.  
**

* * *

"Ietsu. Get up. Ietsu. _Ietsu._" Reborn nudged Ietsuna but the latter just made a noise and continued to sleep.

"I have no choice then. I'll have to use Vongola family's traditional awakening methods." As soon as he said that, he took out defibrillators and prepared to shock Ietsuna awake.

"Three… Two… One…" On cue, Ietsu bolted up from his bed screaming. There was smoke coming out from his hair.

"You're awake." Reborn said as he gave an innocent smile, as if he hadn't just shocked a person.

"Do you normally send electric shocks through someone's body just to wake them up?" Ietsuna exclaimed.

"It's a good thing you even opened your eyes. Some people don't even wake up at all."

_That's because they die of shock… _Ietsuna was rendered speechless.

"Hurry up and get up, Dame-Ietsu, before you are late for school."

"School? School! Hieee! Oh my god I'm going to be late!" Ietsuna shrieked as he ran out of his room.

"You still have much to learn, Dame-Ietsu."

* * *

"Hello, Kyoya." Tsuna greeted as he walked through the door to the rooftop. It was lunchtime, and Tsuna brought his bento to eat at his usual place, the rooftop of Namimori Middle School, along with the Demon of Namimori, Hibari Kyoya.

They were an odd pair, really, but Hibari claimed to only tolerate the 'omnivore', and grudgingly share his private rooftop with Tsuna only because Tsuna kept bugging him. Tsuna, on the other hand, liked the peace and quiet of the rooftop and somehow managed to make Hibari allow him to crowd on the rooftop (through a fight, probably).

Hibari was lying down on the floor, hands supporting his head. He didn't deem it necessary to give Tsuna a reply.

Tsuna just smiled, already used to Hibari's antisocial behaviour. He sat down on a spot one metre away from Hibari as he was not in a mood to fight Hibari now.

"Hmm… Looks like we have a guest today. Did you not feel his presence?" Tsuna said as he opened his bento, putting a piece of sushi in his mouth.

Hibari sat up, alarmed. "An intruder?" He must be very strong then, for Hibari not to sense his presence. The thought made Hibari's blood heat up in anticipation.

"More like an old friend, really. And please don't think about fighting him, you have no chance of winning."

Trust Tsuna to make matters worse by making Hibari more excited. The latter always loved a challenge.

Tsuna turned his gaze to a specific spot of the wall, and watched calmly as something moved. "Nice to see you again, Reborn. Your camouflage skills have improved over the years."

The 'piece of wall' turned around to reveal a small face.

"Thank you. It's been a long time, hasn't it? How many years have it been since…" Reborn trailed off. "No matter. Tsuna, I didn't expect to see you here, in Namimori of all places. You, on the other hand, don't seem that surprised to see me here."

"I know things, Reborn… and most of all, I know you." Tsuna replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "You are here to train the Vongola Decimo, right? Time really flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's Vongola's tenth generation already. Well, all I have to say about this is that if it was many years ago, I would have gone into shock knowing you have become a tutor."

"I'm sure you can imagine me being a Spartan tutor from hell," Reborn smirked. Then his expression turned serious as he wiped the smirk off his face. "Let's go back to the matter at hand. We need to talk, Tsuna. Preferably alone." He turned his attention to Hibari, who had been accessing the newcomer all along and his tonfas held out.

"Ah. Kyoya, isn't it time for your patrol? It wouldn't do for you to be behind schedule, right?" _I'll deal with him_,Tsuna assured him silently.

"Hn. I will bite you to death later, omnivore." With that, Hibari left, with his jacket flowing after him. Throughout the whole confrontation, Tsuna's smile never wavered.

"How have you been, Reborn? Good?" There was a flash of melancholy in Tsuna's eyes, before it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"… Why are you here, Tsuna?"

Tsuna laughed. "Does it matter, why I am here? We haven't met for years and that is the thing you are most concerned about? Why, I'm feeling quite heartbroken at the moment. Anyway, I've travelled to many places, perhaps I just want to settle down at a quiet town like Namimori and lead a peaceful life."

"Tsuna, you never 'settle down'. Sawada Ietsuna is a candidate for Vongola Decimo, and you, as the Sky Arcobaleno… There is no such thing as coincidence, at least not like this. Does this concern the Tri-Ni-Sette? Is something happening?"

Tsuna shook his head. "There's nothing to worry about, Reborn."

"Then why—"

Tsuna looked away to avoid Reborn's burning gaze. "To tell you the truth, I had a vision."

Reborn looked up in alarm. "What? And you say there is nothing to worry about?"

Tsuna sighed. "Like I said, I don't think it's anything bad. Trust me. A dream… A vision brought me here. I dreamt of this place, not knowing why, so I came. I think something is going happen. Something big. Nevertheless, don't worry yourself out, it's not good for your health."

Reborn pulled his fedora down. "Something big, huh."

"So I'll be staying at Namimori for a while. I bet it'll be fun to be a normal student for once." Tsuna smiled. "I guess I'm stuck with you for the time being then."

Before Reborn could reply, he saw Tsuna's eyes turn serious for the first time since the start of the conversation, darkening slightly.

"Maybe it's fate."

* * *

***Blushes* Mature Tsuna is too much for me…Comments? **

**Side note: Reborn's pacifier didn't glow because Tsuna uses Mammon's chains to hide his identity. ****The interaction between Tsuna and Reborn would be different because they met before they were Arcobaleno and they were together for a while. And Tsuna was his boss for very long so I guess they are equal and Reborn wouldn't treat him like how he did in canon. Tsuna is deliberately OOC. **

**I've edited Liar (another R27, oneshot) and you guys can go read it if you want. I'm going to edit all my stories as stated in my profile page. For those waiting for I'm the Assassin, you're the Detective heheheh will update in the second week of September hopefully. **

**Love your patience ^^ as for my Reborn and Tsuna birthday fics, they'll be delayed as those days clash with my very very important exam dates and I was supposed to write them in advance but obviously my procrastination skills are so superb that I didn't write anything at all. I'll write them after my exams! Really! (Hopefully) **


	2. Chapter II

**A/N: I promised that I would update soon right? I'm finally here. Sorry, had an awful writer's block earlier because I totally forgot how I was going to characterize Tsuna and Reborn and how their relationship would be like. I thought of this story a long time ago and the inspiration disappeared. But never mind, I got it back after much thinking. **

**I tried. I suspect I might have typos that confuse Ietsu and Tsuna… **

**The story follows both manga and anime. Disclaimer: Don't own KHR. **

**Note: Ietsu's full name is Sawada Ietsuna, and Ietsu is just a short form of Ietsuna, like how Tsuna is short for Tsunayoshi. I borrowed it from canon Tsuna's granddad. **

**Tsuna's age is unknown for the time being. He's a few years younger than Reborn, and since we don't know Reborn's age canonically, Tsuna does not have an exact age either.**

* * *

**Setting: Daily life arc (Part I: Introduction)**

* * *

**Dying Will Bullet **

"Oh my god! I'm going to be late!" Ietsuna cried as he ran out of his house in a rush, a bread hanging in between his teeth.

"Reborn! Why are you here?" Ietsu looked to Reborn who suddenly appeared and was walking beside him.

"I'm your tutor, Ietsu, I'm supposed to track your progress." Reborn replied nonchalantly.

Ietsu rolled his eyes, still unable to believe the whole mafia-tutor thing. When he looked up, he saw a boy walking in front of him and blinked. "Eh? Isn't that Sawada-san? He lives nearby? …Oh right! He does live near me!" _But I seldom see him though, probably because I'm always late!_

"Hmm?" The said boy walking in front of him stopped and turned around. "Oh, good morning, Ietsuna-san, and hello to you too, Reborn."

"Ciaossu, Tsuna."

"Good morn- What? Sawada-san knows Reborn?" Ietsuna exclaimed in disbelief.

_What! Is Sawada-san involved in the mafia! What did you do, Reborn!_

Tsuna smiled, "Call me Tsuna, please, otherwise it can get a bit confusing. And yes, Reborn's an old friend of mine."

_Friend? Reborn has friends? Wait... Old friend? How old is Reborn anyway?_

"I assure you, Reborn is very old."

"HHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!" Ietsu jerked back in shock. _This guy also knows how to read minds too? What's wrong with them? Creepy!_

"Stop shrieking like that, Dame-Ietsu. It's annoying." Reborn said as he hit Ietsu on the head.

"Ouch!"

Tsuna looked at the both of them and just laughed. "I missed this kind of days. So cheerful."

"Huh?" Ietsu tilted his head, puzzled at what Tsuna had just said.

Tsuna shook his head. "Nothing. Anyway, how is Reborn adapting to Japan?"

"Mama cooked really nice food for me." Was all Reborn said.

Tsuna chuckled. "I want to try it some–"

"Kyaaa! How cute!" Tsuna was cut off by Kyoko, who suddenly appeared and bent down in front of Reborn.

Reborn used his usual greeting. "Ciaossu."

"Where are you wearing a suit?" Kyoko asked.

"Because I'm in the mafia."

"Reborn!" Both Tsuna and Ietsu exclaimed indignantly.

Unexpectedly, Kyoko seemed unfazed, if not more excited. "Waaahhh! How cool!"

"Eh?" Ietsu didn't react in time, while Tsuna was just beside him shaking his head, speechless.

"Well good luck. Bye!"

"Ciao ciao."

"Reborn attracts just as many girls as before." Tsuna said after Kyoko walked away.

"It's called Mafia Seduction, you know. Ietsu still has a long way to go."

"What?"

"You like her, don't you? Have you confessed?" Reborn asked.

"Wh– What? She's our school idol. It's useless… even if I confess."

"Tsk tsk. Such low self-esteem."

"Reborn! Stop teasing the poor boy already…" Tsuna finally interrupted, speaking up for Ietsu.

"It's finally time…" Reborn took out his gun. "Die."

And he shot Ietsu, right on the forehead.

"REBORN! Confess to Sasagawa Kyoko with my Dying Will!" Ietsu tore through his shirt and ran in the direction where Kyoko had gone, with an orange flame burning on his forehead.

Tsuna watched the bizarre show in front of him and blinked after a few seconds. "What… just happened?"

"Vongola's Dying Will bullets, of course." Reborn answered smugly.

"..."

"Don't give me that look."

Tsuna shook his head in exasperation. "Spartan tutor... Indeed... Now I know why you had accepted the job, you sadist. You do know that I didn't use this method to train my Dying Will Flames, right?"

"Of course, but this is the most suitable for him and also for the circumstances."

"If you say so..." Tsuna replied doubtfully. _I bet you just want to have some fun and entertainment..._

"Anyway, we should get to school soon, I'm going to be late." Tsuna said as he scooped Reborn from the ground and into his embrace. "Come on, I'll carry you there."

"Tsuna..." Reborn's eyes twitched, though it was barely noticeable.

"I'm sure it'll be faster this way." Tsuna snickered a bit, taking pleasure in annoying Reborn, as he started running to school.

* * *

**Gokudera Hayato**

"_BOOM!_"

"HIEEEEE! Someone help me!" Ietsu literally screamed as he ran away from one Gokudera Hayato who was throwing bombs at him.

Ietsu suddenly tripped and fell in the middle of his run, unable to escape a lone lit bomb. "HELP! I don't want to die yet!" Ietsu covered his head in an pitiable attempt to protect himself from the bomb.

"Whoosh!" A stone flew by and managed to extinguish the flame on the bomb, rendering it harmless.

After a few seconds, Ietsu looked up when nothing happened and there was no explosion. "Eh?"

The bomb was no longer in the air. Instead, it had dropped onto the ground, extinguished, with the stone not far away.

"What… HIIIIEEEE! Stop throwing bombs at me!" Ietsu couldn't celebrate his narrow escape from death, for Gokudera did not stop throwing bombs at him and he had to pick himself up and continue to run.

"Tsuna. Your throwing skills got even better." Reborn looked at the stone lying next to the extinguished bomb.

"If I hadn't stepped in…" Tsuna sighed. "I know this is training and I shouldn't interfere, but aren't you being too harsh on that poor kid? He just knew about the mafia for like… how long? Two days? You can't exactly kill off the Vongola Decimo accidentally."

"Have some faith in Ietsu, Tsuna. If he can't deal with this, he can't be the Vongola Decimo." Reborn replied as he raised his gun. "Prepare to die now, Dame-Ietsu." He pressed the trigger.

"REBORN! I will put out the fuses with my dying will!"

Tsuna watched as Ietsu ran around in boxers while extinguishing the fuses. "I've got to wonder though, why don't people wear their clothes after they got shot with the Dying Will bullet? Was the person who made them a pervert?"

"Clothes are a form of restriction too. It's best if they don't get in the way."

"… Oh well, I'll be glad that it's not me." _Yeah you should be, Tsuna. In an alternate universe, it's you._

Tsuna smiled. "But I daresay I won't be bored for a very, very long while… Even though it's kind of mean to be entertained by other people's suffering."

"Human beings always do that, subconsciously or not."

Silence descended between them, except for the shouts of Gokudera and Ietsu and the sound of explosions. Tsuna broke the silence. "I missed you, Reborn, but you've changed. You've become more childish."

"I'm an _infant, _Tsuna. Obviously I should take advantage of that and act like one, right? Anyway, I can get away with it, so it's fine."

"Are you enjoying yourself then, in these past few years?"

"As much as one can in an infant's body."

Tsuna just chuckled, looking up only when the explosions stopped."Well, looks like they stopped fighting. Oh my, is Gokudera kneeling?"

"Well, Ietsu just acquired a new, loyal guardian."

"Your methods are really doubtful, but I guess they work."

"Of course. After all, I'm the world's greatest hitman."

As Tsuna and Reborn walked closer to the pair, they could hear Gokudera proclaiming his loyalty. "Tenth! Let me follow you forever!"

Ietsu looked at the kneeling Gokudera and panicked. "Hiieee! What are you doing, Gokudera-kun?"

"Having the loser serve under the winner is a family rule." Reborn butted in.

"EH? I don't need any subordinates! We can just be normal friends, right?" Ietsu turned to look at Gokudera with hopeful eyes.

Gokudera glared intimidatingly (out of habit, or he just had a very scary face). "Absolutely not!"

"Eep!" Ietsu jumped and talked no more as he inched away slightly from Gokudera, too frightened to say anything.

Tsuna burst out laughing suddenly, and everyone turned their attention on him as they had momentarily forgotten about his presence. Tsuna shook his head. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. You guys are too cute."

Gokudera narrowed his eyes at Tsuna, his expression turning scarier than before, but Tsuna was absolutely unfazed. "Who are you calling cute, you tenth-look-alike? And don't disrespect the tenth!"

"Hah?" Tsuna's eyes widened. "Tenth-look-alike? Me?" _Excuse me, I'm much older than him! Shouldn't he be the 'Tsuna-look-alike'? Also, who was the one trying to kill him in the first place? _

In the end, Tsuna decided to keep his mouth shut, since he did not want to start a fight with Gokudera anytime soon.

"Who are you? Are you a spy? How can you throw with such precision? What's your intention of getting so close to Tenth?"

Tsuna raised his eyebrows. _He gets protective so fast. Still, he's really observant... I guess he does have the potential to become a Vongola guardian. _"I'm just an onlooker, and I mean Ietsu no harm. Well, at least I won't bomb him, I'm sure."

"He won't harm Ietsu, Gokudera." Reborn said for Tsuna, knowing that Gokudera will believe him to an extent.

"I should go then, see you tomorrow, everyone." Tsuna picked up his bag and waved the three of them goodbye.

Gokudera watched as Tsuna walked away, eyes still full of suspicion, simply because he could tell Tsuna was hiding things behind his smiling face. He was obviously powerful, yet he never showed it. There was so much more to Sawada Tsunayoshi than meets the eye. "Tch."

* * *

**Yamamoto Takeshi**

"Yamamoto is going to jump off the roof!"

"What? No way!" Ietsu shouted in distress.

As everyone ran out of class, Ietsu only stood there in shock. "You're not coming, Ietsu?" Tsuna asked. _After all, it's probably one of Reborn's plan, and it most likely concerns you. _

"Yeah... I'm coming. I need to go toilet, so you can go first."

"If you say so. I'll go find Reborn then."

Tsuna ran to the roof, trying to get through the crowd of people who were all running towards the rooftop.

"Ciaossu, Tsuna."

Tsuna looked up and Reborn jumped to land on his head. "Hello. So what's your plan today?"

"Don't worry, no one is going to die. Not _today_."

"Alright, I won't do anything." He turned to watch Yamamoto, who was arguing with some of his classmates. "He's being stupid."

"Hmm, but that's how you acquire family."

"That fence... It's not going to hold right? Allow me to say something before Ietsu comes." Tsuna walked forward slightly, but still behind the crowd.

"Oi Yamamoto! Are you simply seeking attention? If you want to jump, then stop talking and jump! It's useless if you are not going to do anything. If you want to be a coward and give up on yourself, it's your own life and your own decision. Don't pull others into it." Although Tsuna was not that close to Yamamoto, his voice was loud enough to carry through the crowd and to Yamamoto.

Without waiting for his reply, Tsuna turned and walked out of the rooftop through the door.

The students were shocked about Tsuna's sudden outburst, since he was never one to be outspoken. Yamamoto was nearly rendered speechless by Tsuna's words, nearly. "I'm not seeking attention! I'm really going to jump!"

Before he could actually let go of the railing and jump, however, Ietsu came bursting through the entrance and managed to stop Yamamoto in time, by saying his heart-felt feelings that convinced the latter.

They had fallen down the building but Ietsu saved the both of them in the end, and everyone was thankfully safe and sound.

The rest, they said, was history, and Ietsu gained a new loyal family member.

* * *

—_At the end of that day_

"Hey Sawada!" Yamamoto called after Tsuna after school.

"Yamamoto-san?" Tsuna stopped walking and turned around.

"About today..."

Tsuna blinked and smiled apologetically. "Oh, I would like to say I'm sorry for saying such things. Please don't take them to heart, I didn't really mean what I had said." ..._To a certain extent, anyway. _

"No, no, I was going to say that thank you for saying such things and trying to persuade me. I guess I'm really a coward, and nothing good comes out from my idiocy. " Yamamoto scratched his head and have his usual cheerful laugh.

Tsuna frowned. "I didn't think you were a coward. Stupid, yes, but not a coward. Even the bravest people make the stupidest mistakes sometimes." Tsuna tilted his head to look at Yamamoto and gave him a gentle smile. "And Yamamoto-san, if you don't want to laugh or smile, it's okay not to. I won't judge you."

Yamamoto stopped in his tracks. "Eh?"

"Excuse me for being a hypocrite, but I don't want the people around to force themselves to be cheerful. You don't make the people around you happier, you only strain yourself and make yourself sadder."

Tsuna admitted that he was a hypocrite because he also smiles and laughs even when the emotions are not from the bottom of his heart. In his defence, he had seen many things and it was hard not to become jaded after so many years in the mafia. Yamamoto, on the other hand, was too young to be faking cheerfulness.

_Furthermore, if you become Ietsu's guardian and part of the mafia, it will drive you crazy if you pretend to be cheerful all the time. _

Come to think of it, Tsuna thought as he scanned through the list of people he knew in the mafia, those who act cheerful were all lunatics. Then again, everyone he knew were probably not sane to start with anyway.

Tsuna walked ahead of Yamamoto, who was still stoned on the sidewalk, not bothering to wait for him.

"Wait!" Yamamoto finally could move after a few seconds and ran after Tsuna who had already walked a distance in front of him.

When Yamamoto finally caught up with Tsuna, he asked, "Do you mind if I call you Tsuna?"

Tsuna nodded. "Sure. I'm not that particular about names anyway."

"Call me Takeshi. Yamamoto-san sounds like my dad."

Tsuna smiled. "Takeshi, then."

* * *

**Lambo Bovino**

It was a pretty normal day for Tsuna. He had just went to the supermarket to buy his groceries and was on the way home. Well, that was until he heard a loud _boom_ in the middle of his journey, followed by a scream that sounded suspiciously like Ietsu.

Tsuna looked around and realised that yes, he was pretty near Ietsu's house and given Reborn's Spartan methods, it wouldn't be a surprise if he use bombs to punish Ietsu when he answered questions wrongly.

Tsuna contemplated whether he should go drop by Ietsu's house, just out of curiosity (and Tsuna's secretly as sadistic as Reborn, but he would never admit it), and decided there was no harm in doing that. Furthermore, he was going to pass by Ietsu's house anyway.

On his way to Ietsu's house, there were many more explosions from its direction. After that, Tsuna thought it sounded like there were grenades involved too. _Since when did Reborn use grenades?_

Just as he was near the door of the Sawada household, he heard a cry from above followed by many explosions.

"Eh?" Tsuna looked up in surprise, only to see many grenades explode. What shocked him more was that there was a small figure that was falling to the ground from the impact of the explosion. It looked like a child. Tsuna didn't have any time to consider his next actions; he simply ran to catch it.

He managed to catch a boy who seemed like a 5-year-old and he was wearing a cow suit. He was covered in soot and ashes, but otherwise unharmed.

"Are you okay?" Tsuna asked worriedly.

"To.. ler… ate…" The kid told himself. "Wahhh!" …Only to burst out crying the next second.

"Ah…" Tsuna was kind of at a loss when dealing with a crying child, really. _What should I do now? Oh dear. Does he stop crying after a while? Or do I need to do something?_

"Hey, don't cry. Do you want some candy?" Tsuna rummaged through his grocery bags and managed to dig out a packet of sweets he had just bought. "Here."

The child immediately stopped brawling and looked up with hopeful eyes, then hungrily took the sweet and ate it.

"I'm Tsuna. What's your name? Why are you here?"

"Lambo-sama is here to kill Reborn!"

"So your name is Lambo and you're here to… kill Reborn?!" _Is it even possible to kill Reborn?_

"Lambo's dream is to become the next boss of Bovino famiglia and make all humanity bow down to me! Bwahahaha!"

Tsuna sweatdropped. "That's a… really nice dream."

"But I have to defeat first-class hitman Reborn first!"

"Oh." That explained why he was thrown out of the Sawada household. "I'm sure you'll defeat him… one day…" Tsuna didn't even sound convinced himself, but Lambo was easy enough to fool.

"Come on, let's go in and settle this." Tsuna carried Lambo and rang the doorbell to Sawada house.

Nana was the one to open the door. "Oh, isn't that Reborn's friend?" She looked at Tsuna. "And who are you?"

Tsuna smiled with charisma. "I'm Ietsu and Reborn's friend, Tsuna. Nice to meet you, Sawada-san."

"My, my, Reborn has lots of friends, huh? Ietsu too! Come in!" Nana opened the door wider and let Tsuna and Lambo in. "Ie-kun! Reborn-kun! Your friend Tsuna is here!"

"Tsuna?" Ietsu ran down the stairs with Reborn. "What brings you here? Oh, right. Lambo."

"Yeah, I saw him falling out of your window and I caught him."

"You should have just let him die, Tsuna." Reborn said.

"Reborn!" Tsuna glared indignantly at him. "Anyway… I'm sure you have some purpose for him to come here."

"Hmph." Reborn didn't give Tsuna a reply.

"Reborn, prepare to die!" Lambo, energized from the sweets earlier, decided to attack Reborn again.

"Wait!" Tsuna watched as Lambo pulled out more grenades to throw at Reborn, knowing that Lambo would not be able to succeed.

Obviously, Lambo did not bother to heed Tsuna's advice and attacked. Leon shifted into a bat in Reborn's hand and hit the grenades along with Lambo.

"HIEEE!"

"What–!"

Tsuna reached out to grab Lambo on one hand, then put him down safely, while the other hand went to catch all the grenades and throw them out of the door, all before the grenades exploded.

After everything, Tsuna let out a sigh of relief, then glared at Reborn. "Are you trying to kill everyone here, Reborn? Seriously."

Reborn shrugged and replied innocently, "I knew you would do that, anyway."

"Still…" Tsuna bent down to talk to Lambo. "Are you okay, Lambo?"

Lambo latched onto Tsuna's leg tightly. "Tsuna-nii!"

Ietsu laughed. "Looks like you gained a new child, Tsuna."

Tsuna smiled in exasperation. "That's pretty unexpected. Come on, Lambo, I need to go home now, so can you please let go? I'll give you this packet of sweets if you want."

"Really?"

"Oi. Just let go of Tsuna already." Reborn sounded annoyed, and brutally kicked Lambo away from Tsuna.

"Reborn, be more gentle."

"Tch."

Tsuna just smiled at the scene in front of him, with Ietsu trying to console the crying Lambo, and Reborn standing there without caring what he had just done.

* * *

**Bianchi**

"Thank you for having us, Sawada-san." Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera greeted Nana as they went into Ietsu's house. Nana had asked Ietsu to invite his friends over for dinner, and Tsuna, who had always heard praises from Reborn about her cooking, decided to try the food himself. After all, he knew that Reborn was a picky eater and only eats the best quality food available.

"Welcome! And you can just call me Mama!" Nana gave the three a warm smile.

"Hello guys." Ietsu greeted.

"Tch. Why is the baseball idiot and the Tenth-look-alike here?"

Yamamoto smiled. "Maa, we are all friends here, right?"

Tsuna just nodded at Ietsu as greeting.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you, Reborn got a new tutor for me. You know, the woman who throws poisonous food? Turns out she was Reborn's fourth lover or something like that. Hah? Reborn sure likes to joke." Ietsu shook his head.

However, for a fleeting second, Ietsu thought Tsuna's expression changed before returning back to normal. _Strange_, Ietsu blinked. _It almost looked like he was in pain. _

Ietsu wanted to say something, but Bianchi came into the living room with Reborn in her arms.

"Sis…" Gokudera bit out, bending down in pain, and promptly fainted.

Ietsu ran to Gokudera's side immediately. "Gokudera? Gokudera? Oh my god are you okay?"

Yamamoto and Ietsu helped to lay Gokudera on the couch. "What did he mean by 'sis', Reborn? Bianchi is his sister?"

"Half sister, yes."

"…_What?_" Ietsu cried out in shock.

* * *

—_During dinner _

Gokudera had gone home after explaining the situation, not wanting to see his sister more than necessary.

Ietsu would say that Gokudera was weird, but Tsuna was acting even weirder. Even Reborn seemed a bit more subdued. Yamamoto was the only one normal, as normal as he could be, anyway.

If anyone believed him, Ietsu would say that he could feel a tension around the table.

"Say 'ahh', Reborn." Ietsu's eyes nearly bulged out when Bianchi started to feed Reborn.

Reborn didn't say anything and opened his mouth obediently.

Ietsu looked around the table to see the reactions. He thought Tsuna's face turned even paler, if possible. It had been quite pale for the whole evening. Ietsu finally asked, voice filled with worry. "Tsuna, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell? You've been looking a bit pale."

Everyone turned their attention to Tsuna. "Eh?" Tsuna looked up from his food. "Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Ietsu saw Reborn pulling down his fedora to cover up his face, and then he continued to eat.

After dinner, Yamamoto was staying for dessert, but Tsuna politely declined.

"Thank you so much for the dinner, Mama. It's quite late and I need to go back now." He smiled but Ietsu thought that it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Reborn just watched as Tsuna walked towards the exit. To other people, Tsuna seemed normal. To Reborn, however, Tsuna's smile was so strained that Reborn could feel a tug in his chest. Reborn knew him for many years – no, the years didn't matter, it was how well he knew him –, he could tell that Tsuna was clearly upset. For Ietsu to see through Tsuna's facade, it was probably due to his Hyper Intuition.

Then again, when did Tsuna give a real, happy smile that comes from the bottom of his heart since… a long time ago?

_I'm sorry, Tsuna. _

As Tsuna walked out of the door, Tsuna smiled, a smile that was slightly tinged with sadness.

_Why does it still hurt so much? _Tsuna shook his head to clear his thoughts. _We aren't even together anymore._

* * *

—_Many years back, before they became Arcobaleno_

"Reborn, aren't you popular." Tsuna rested his chin on his hand as he watched yet another girl coming to talk to Reborn, obviously trying to get his attention and flirt with him.

The disco light was blinking harshly at the corner of their eyes, but on the whole it was pretty dark and hard to see Reborn's expression from where Tsuna was. They were sitting at a slightly more secluded area to avoid the crowd, their drinks on the table. Tsuna had a _Paradise _cocktail, while Reborn… had ordered an espresso, to which Tsuna's eyebrows had nearly skyrocketed. Tsuna didn't have much experience with this kind of things, but isn't nightclub all about alcoholic drinks and dancing? Who comes to the nightclub and orders coffee? Never mind.

"Hmmm." Reborn hummed as he smiled his deadly attractive smile as he tried to wave the girl away politely with his fantastic womanizer skills. Ah, is that an oxymoron? Where he was a womanizer and yet he was trying to get this girl away.

Tsuna took a closer look at the girl who was walking away, seeing her beautiful blond hair flowing down her back. "She's beautiful, isn't she? You don't want to dance with her?"

"Is she? I see a more beautiful person in front of me." Reborn's lips twitched upwards.

"Re– Reborn!" Tsuna spluttered, turning his head away so he wouldn't have to look at Reborn's teasing smile. He couldn't believe that Reborn can say this kind of embarrassing things without even blushing or having any reactions.

"Are you perhaps… jealous?" Reborn smirked.

"Hah? Jealous? Why would I be? Not over such an egoistic hitman."

"I didn't know that you can get jealous. Or the fact that you're so cute when you're jealous. Maybe I should make you jealous more often?"

"You dare?" Tsuna glared challengingly at him. "I'll shoot you first."

Reborn laughed. "So you admit you're jealous?"

"So what if I am?" Tsuna gave a slight pout. "How would you feel if dozens of girls are running their hands all over me?"

Reborn smirked evilly. "I would peel them off one by one and kill them all."

Tsuna just stared. Was Reborn actually serious? That was a really possessive streak there. "That's a bit… extreme." More like, extremely extreme.

"Don't you worry though, Tsuna," Reborn reached out to brush Tsuna's hair off his face. "There will only be you."

"That's what you say. For all I know, I might have fallen in love with a liar who lies without even batting an eye." Tsuna paused to think for a few seconds. "Wait, you know what? I think I probably did."

"Yeah, you probably did." Reborn gave a chuckle. "But I would never lie to you."

Tsuna smiled smugly. "Of course. You wouldn't dare."

"So believe me when I say that. It will always and only be you. In my eyes, in my heart, and in my world. No one can catch my attention like you do."

"I didn't know you were so mushy when I first saw you. What happened to the dark brooding hitman I met on day one?" Tsuna smiled, unable to ignore the warm feeling filling up his chest.

"Only for you, Tsuna, only for you."

Tsuna just laughed.

* * *

—_Present_

That's what he said, didn't he? Tsuna thought as he lay on the grass of his backyard after returning to his own house, watching the stars blink in the night sky. That was what he had promised.

_It will always and only be you._

Tsuna closed his eyes and sighed. He wished that he could clear his mind, but memories kept flowing back to him, with Reborn always having a part in them.

That was so long ago, and people… change.

* * *

**A/N: The author got lazy and stops here… **

**You should probably get used to flashbacks… I think I'm going to use many in the subsequent chapters, if not only the daily life arc is so boring .-. and omg can't wait until future arc because well~ it'll definitely be more interesting. **

**I've skipped: the second chapter, expulsion crisis, Russian roulette, Haru and family entrance test. Going mostly by manga cause I was lazy to rewatch the anime. Hmm it'll be a mix in the future I think. **

**By the way, I think I'm going towards All x Tsuna on top of R27. (As in not romance but like everyone cares for Tsuna.) So Gokudera will respect him in the future. **


	3. Chapter III

**A/N: I'm back! I'm so, so, so sorry that I lied I was supposed to update in October but things happened. Apologies! (I'm so disappointed in myself haha)**

**Okay the chronological order is all messed up, but the anime and manga are different anyway, so I'll just put whatever I need inside.**

* * *

**Hibari Kyoya **

The first time Tsuna set his eyes on Hibari Kyoya, he thought, hey, that looked like Fon.

The next thought was that, this guy was probably as dangerous as Fon then, since they were related. Tsuna promptly raised his guard.

The third thought was even though they looked similar, they gave off such a different aura. The moment Hibari swept his eyes over him, his gaze sent chills up Tsuna's spine, and it was impressive for a teenager to do that to Tsuna, after all the mafia men he had seen.

Tsuna always liked hanging out with Fon, for the latter was like the someone calm amongst the chaotic Arcobaleno. The both of them were like the only sane ones when they went for missions, or during the normal times for that matter. Well, obviously Tsuna was close to Reborn, but honestly an excessive time spent with Reborn was definitely not healthy, with Reborn being so egoistic, arrogant, sadistic and, all in all, a bad influence.

Fon always made him feel calm, and reminded him of a gentle breeze brushing his face in spring, while Hibari reminded him of the harsh winter frost. Chilly, cold, and painful. However, no matter who Hibari was, Tsuna had planned to stay out of his life.

That _was_ the plan. When they met again, it was on the school's rooftop. Hibari was as usual, on the rooftop, but Tsuna didn't know that since he just transferred in. Even if the rooftop was off limits to the students, Tsuna still went, as he was after all not one for rules.

"Herbivore, the roof is off limits to the students. Leave or I'll bite you to death."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just transferred in and I don't know the rules yet." Tsuna replied, trying to act like a normal, frightened student.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at him. "If you dare break another rule, herbivore, I'll surely find you and bite you to death."

"I'm really sorry." Tsuna bowed. "But you're a student too, why are you here?"

"I can do whatever I want."

Can't Hibari let a man enjoy his meal alone, peacefully and quietly? It was not like the Hibari owned the school… or did he? Whatever, it didn't matter to Tsuna anyway.

Okay, so Tsuna heard that Hibari was the Head of the Namimori Middle Disciplinary Committee, and one should never cross him. However, his attitude really pissed Tsuna off a little. Maybe it was a bad day. Maybe Tsuna simply wasn't in a good mood. Maybe in the future, Tsuna would thank his foul mood on this day that bound the two of them together.

On a normal day, Tsuna would have given an innocent smile and walked away, but today was apparently not the day. "Then I can too." Tsuna simply sat down and opened his bento box.

"Herbivore… I'll bite you to death!" Hibari whipped out his tonfas, obviously angered and annoyed.

Tsuna simply picked up a salmon nigiri using his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. "Mmm, delicious."

"Her…bi…vore." Hibari gritted out. The tick mark was already on Hibari's forehead, annoyed that the herbivore actually ignored him. He rushed forward with his tonfas in his hands, attempting to strike Tsuna down in one blow.

To Hibari's amazement, Tsuna dodged easily as he stood up in a blink of an eye and jumped away nimbly, his eyes still set on his bento. "Wow." Was this weak-looking guy secretly a carnivore?

"Do you know? I'm not here to start a fight, I'm just here to have my lunch. I won't disturb you if you don't disturb me." Tsuna tried to negotiate, but it seemed like Hibari was only excited to fight him.

Tsuna sighed. Were teenagers these days all so hot-headed?

As Hibari continued to strike, Tsuna continued to dodge. The fighting pace got faster and faster, but the only result in the end was that Hibari was slightly tired and panting, while Tsuna just wanted to eat his nicely-made lunch.

"Omnivore…" That's right, that's the word to describe him. An omnivore. Even though the guy before him was strong, somehow Hibari thought he couldn't pull off the title of a carnivore.

Tsuna raised his eyebrow at the title, wondering if it was a form of acknowledgement of his strength or something. "Ah… So can I eat now? I'm going to be late for classes if I don't finish eating soon." The bell was going to ring in a few minutes, thus Tsuna managed to eat finish his bento in record time and rush off to his classes.

Hibari didn't deem it necessary to acknowledge him anymore, just threw a "hn" and jumped to a higher area to take a nap.

The next day, Tsuna was back on the roof again. He did try to go to other places, but he decided that he still liked the roof more. Hibari was just a minor downside.

Tsuna, though, did bring another bento with him, which he gave to Hibari, claiming that it was a peace offering, and from now on they will share the roof without disturbing the other.

Hibari had to admit that he was kind of hungry and Tsuna did cook very well (and he did give an innocent smile today so Hibari somehow or another trusted him to not poison the food), not that he would ever say it out loud.

In the end, with Tsuna occasionally cooking meals and adding the fact that Tsuna was indeed stronger than him, Hibari had no choice but to make-do with another being sharing the roof with him. Of course, Hibari still picked up fights with Tsuna, but Tsuna always tried his best in evading the attempts, most of the times succeeding.

It was an implicit friendship, and before they knew it, they spend most of their lunch breaks together.

Tsuna didn't know how that happened, but as others had told him, the sky-flame users do have a knack for attracting people to them, and in Tsuna's case, it was always the weird and dangerous people.

To Tsuna, Hibari was a different kind of companion. He was quiet most of the times, preferring his own personal space and time, and Tsuna was fine with it.

He didn't want to admit, but Tsuna thought that Hibari reminded him of a certain someone as days flew by. Maybe it was the aura they both gave off, but Tsuna kind of liked staying with Hibari.

He never did admit, but even he sometimes get a bit lonely, sometimes getting a bit sad thinking about the past, and sometimes missing a certain someone.

* * *

Tsuna just happened to walk past the reception room when he heard some ruckus inside. Knowing that the room was used for the disciplinary committee (he had occasionally dropped by to see Kyoya), Tsuna stopped to see what was happening inside.

Honestly speaking, Tsuna was not worried for Hibari, for the fact that he could defend himself well, but the appearance of Reborn kind of changed everything.

Who knows what Reborn is scheming again…

When Tsuna opened the door, the whole reception room was in a mess and it looked like a tornado had passed over it.

Hibari was pretty much unscathed, but Tsuna couldn't say that for Yamamoto and Gokudera lying on the floor. Ietsu was half-naked (courtesy of the Dying Will Bullet, probably), and Reborn was sitting on the window ledge.

Tsuna didn't know what happened, but the first words he heard upon entering the room was Hibari saying "I don't know who you are, but I'm very much irritated right now."

Uh oh.

Then he moved forward to attack Reborn, ignoring Tsuna's cry of "Wait!". Tsuna resisted the temptation to roll his eyes, because Hibari _never_ actually listened to him when he asked him not to fight, but he nevertheless rushed forward to grab Hibari's right arm away from Reborn.

The thoughts of _what the hell is Reborn planning again, why did I fall in love with such a weird guy, why does everyone like to fight so much, and Kyoya can you have more self-control than a five-year-old kid _flashed through his mind.

Still, his efforts were proved fruitless when Hibari's tonfa clashed against Reborn's, and Tsuna knew everything was doomed when Hibari said "Wow. You're amazing.". If Hibari and Reborn started fighting _seriously_ in the middle of nowhere, it was surely a cause of concern. Tsuna didn't want to attract any more attention than it was already, and it wouldn't really be convenient if the school suddenly collapsed.

Sometimes Tsuna questioned the sanity of people around him, but then again he had to admit that he was not the sanest person on earth either.

A tick mark appeared on Tsuna's forehead. "I said stop it already!" He reached forward and pulled Hibari away from Reborn.

The two ceased action, because it was common knowledge that _Hell hath no fury like a Tsuna scorned_, and it was high time they stop before Tsuna kills the both of them.

"Omnivore…"

Before anyone could continue to speak, however, Reborn grabbed Ietsu who grabbed Yamamoto and Gokudera and jumped out of the window. Reborn had wanted to use a bomb, but considering that Tsuna was there, he decided against it lest anything happens to him.

Tsuna just watched them disappear as they dropped from the window, took a deep breath, and decided not to think about Reborn's sanity anymore.

"I want to see that baby again."

Tsuna turned to Hibari, smacked him on his head and walked away.

* * *

When Tsuna saw Reborn and Ietsu in school the next day, Reborn commented on how close Hibari and Tsuna were.

Tsuna tilted his head at the sudden question, and said, "We are just… friends, I guess?"

Reborn raised his eyebrow, to which Tsuna smiled sheepishly in return.

Ietsu scoffed and said, "I don't think that kind of person actually have friends. If he can even tolerate you, you guys must be close indeed."

Ietsu looked up with a puzzled expression as Reborn smacked him with a Leon-turned slipper and shouted, "Ow! What's that for, Reborn?"

"Speaking of which Reborn, are you planning to make Kyoya one of the guardians?" Tsuna asked.

"Any problem with that?" Reborn replied, ignoring Ietsu's exclamation of "What guardians?"

"Nah, I was just wondering why everyone is suddenly in the mafia now…"

"That's all Reborn's fault! He's dragging everyone into the mafia!" Ietsu proclaimed, which earned another smack from Reborn.

Tsuna gave them a rueful smile. "Ah, so it is."

* * *

**Fon**

Tsuna was, needless to say, surprised when he saw Fon, in the middle of the street disguised and selling buns, no less. "How are you, Fon? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Thank you, I'm fine. Didn't expect to see you here either, Tsuna."

"Well, visions." Tsuna shrugged, implying that it was nothing of importance and there was no need to worry over it.

"I heard Reborn was training the Vongola Decimo here."

"Yes."

"Are you okay?" As usual, Fon was getting a little over-protective again, and Tsuna could actually hear the frown in Fon's voice even as his face was covered by sunglasses and a hat.

Tsuna sighed. "I'm fine."

"You shouldn't get into this kind of things… I thought you had always stayed out of mafia-related issues."

"I'm capable of protecting myself, okay? I know what I'm doing and just because I'm cursed… doesn't mean I'm weak."

"Sometimes you overwork yourself…" Fon shook his head. "If you get hurt, everyone would be worried."

Tsuna's eyes softened a little. "I'll be fine, really."

Fon didn't say anything else, and Tsuna waved him goodbye as he headed to school. "See you soon."

"Take care of yourself, Tsuna." Fon called out as Tsuna walked away.

* * *

**Sasagawa Ryohei**

"Join the club, Sawada!" Tsuna blinked as he felt a sense of déjà vu when he entered the school gates. He turned to where the voice was coming from, and saw Ryohei pestering an Ietsu without his clothes on, and Kyoko at the side.

Hmm?

"I'll wait for you in the gym after school!" Ryohei shouted, ignoring Ietsu's protests.

Then Ryohei spotted Tsuna in the distance, and came to greet him instead. "Tsuna! Have you changed your mind? Do you want to join the boxing club now?"

Tsuna sweatdropped mentally at Ryohei's enthusiasm, and rejected him politely.

"Well, that can't be helped then. Anyway, I gained a new member! See you, Tsuna!"

Tsuna just smiled and waved as he watched Ryohei leave.

"Eh? Onii-san asked you too?" Tsuna turned around as Ietsu came up to him.

Tsuna noticed that Reborn was sitting on Ietsu's head, and greeted him too. "Yeah, it's a pretty long story, actually. It was around the time I first transferred here…

"I was just walking on the streets, and I saw some yakuza pestering a girl so I interfered–"

Reborn interrupted. "That's so you, Tsuna. Haven't you heard of 'mind your own business'?" _And try to stay safe?_

"Yeah, yeah. Where was I… Oh yes, and Ryohei happened to see me fighting the yakuza, commented on how 'extreme' I was and asked me to join his boxing club, to which I politely declined, but as you have seen how effective that was, I had to participate in a boxing match against him. If he won, I would join the boxing club, but if I won, then I wouldn't.

"In the end I did win the match, and the rest, as we would say, was history. He never did stop asking, though."

Ietsu gulped. "You must be really confident then…" He couldn't do the same thing, could he? He didn't even know how to box, for god's sake!

"Hmm? I guess I was." Tsuna smiled. "Well, good luck with him, then. He's really a nice guy, albeit a little too passionate. Then again, he's constantly in Dying Will Mode, and I guess that's pretty impressive."

"EH?"

"You didn't have to tell him that, Tsuna."

"Oops." Tsuna gave Reborn a somewhat apologetic smile that didn't seem too sincere. "Look, class is starting soon. Better run now!"

* * *

**Reborn's Birthday **

Tsuna wondered what he should get for Reborn as his birthday neared. He hadn't given him birthday presents for god knows how many years. He remembered that when they were together, Tsuna had always asked what Reborn would like for his birthday.

The answer would always be "_You_."

Then Tsuna would blush, hit Reborn, and still wreck his brain for a birthday present anyway.

It was nice reminiscing the old days, but Tsuna still had the problem of finding Reborn's present.

Tsuna thought until his head hurt, but still couldn't come up with a suitable one, and decided to go with the usual, by baking an espresso cake for him. Honestly he knew that Nana would probably bake one for him too, but he knew how Reborn loved his cake and decided that a small one shouldn't hurt. As for the present… Well, they aren't together anymore, so it didn't need to be so grand, right?

And the cake takes a lot of hard work too, okay?

* * *

In the end Tsuna still bought a coffee cup along with the small espresso cake to Ietsu's home.

They had organized a birthday party for Reborn, and invited many people there.

Tsuna put the cake into the fridge, since they will have to eat the cake prepared first, but Tsuna knew that Reborn didn't like sweet things that much anyway, so he'll probably still be able to eat the cake later on. It'll be a surprise, maybe?

His present was placed with the others, and he went to wish Reborn a happy birthday.

"Just this present? Have you gotten a little stingy, Tsuna?"

Tsuna's eye twitched at the shamelessness of Reborn. "That's asking a bit too much of me, Reborn."

"I'm the world's greatest hitman. I deserve the best."

Tsuna resisted the urge to hit him.

* * *

—_Flashback _

Tsuna had cooked a whole meal for the both of them, along with the three-layered cake he had baked. Tsuna had suggested going out at first, but Reborn insisted that Tsuna's food was the best, so Tsuna decided to cook one of the grandest meals ever, and according to Reborn, it was really good.

"Now it's time for the cake! Hmm, at first I wanted to bake a bigger one, you know like those kind of wedding cakes–"

"Are you implying something, Tsuna? Do you want to get married so soon?" Reborn gave his usual teasing smirk.

Tsuna glared at him and used his fingers to flick Reborn on his forehead. "Reborn! Can you not? Anyway, I was thinking of baking a larger cake, but I thought we won't be able to finish it and it'll be a waste to throw it away so we will have to make-do with this."

"I'll eat anything Tsuna makes."

"You say that but… Never mind. Let's sing you a birthday song then–"

"Pass. I'm too old for this."

"It's not like you're going to sing them anyway! I'm the one singing, so stop complaining."

After much bickering, Reborn finally relented and let Tsuna sing him a birthday song, grudgingly but dutifully blew out the candles and pretended to make a wish, because who believed in that anyway, and they finally could cut the cake.

As Reborn was enjoying the cake, Tsuna brought out the presents, which consisted of a photo album and Reborn's favourite brand of coffee beans.

Reborn thanked Tsuna for the coffee beans as they were quite rare and expensive and even Reborn didn't consume them as often as he wanted, then proceeded to open the photo album.

Reborn had to resist the urge to smile at the photos and wondered where the hell did Tsuna manage to get all of them, and how he didn't notice that their time spent together was so long that it could fill up one entire photo album.

Somehow Tsuna could always make his chest glow with this warm feeling and make his face want to grin sillily. _What are you doing to me, Tsuna? I'm not supposed to feel human, you know. _

"Tsuna, come here."

"Hmm? Is there anything you–?"

Tsuna was cut off as Reborn leaned in to kiss him. Tsuna's mind suddenly short-circuited. He could taste the cake in Reborn's mouth, and thought it tasted delicious – or was it Reborn that tasted delicious? – but that didn't matter anymore.

"As I thought, the cake was missing something. It's so much nicer with a dash of Tsuna." Tsuna blushed, and wanted terribly to wipe that smirk off Reborn's face.

"Thank you." Reborn ruffled Tsuna's hair. "Looks like I have to prepare something good for you tomorrow."

Tsuna scoffed. "You'd better."

Reborn just smirked, and pull Tsuna closer until he could hug him. He wrapped his arms around Tsuna and rested his forehead on his shoulder.

_As long as you are with me, Tsuna, my birthday will always be the best._

* * *

—_Present_

At the end of the party, Tsuna waited until everyone had left then he presented the cake to Reborn.

Reborn had raised his eyebrow at the box given to him, but smiled when he saw the cake inside it. Ietsu was in the kitchen helping to clean up, and nearly fainted in shock when he saw Reborn's smile. Reborn, for the sake of the cake, ignored Ietsu and the urge to shoot him.

"I haven't eaten your food for ages. Did your standard improve or drop?"

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "What kind of question is that?"

Reborn put a piece of cake into his mouth. "It's not bad, I guess."

"Just not bad? That's it, no more cake for your next birthday."

"There's a next?"

Tsuna didn't know how to answer that. "… If you want."

Reborn paused for a while and finally said, "Thank you, Tsuna."

Tsuna smiled, and Ietsu thought the smile made all his previous smiles looked slightly fake, "Happy birthday, Reborn."

_I want to wish you happy birthday for your next birthday, Reborn, your next next and next next next. _

_Just… let me stay by your side forever._

* * *

**A/N: The ending is bittersweet…? o.o Happy Belated birthday to Reborn! (Screw canon and Reborn's birthday party.) I was supposed to write birthday fics for Reborn and Tsuna, but I guessed I sidetracked. Still, here's wishing them a happy birthday! :D The stories will have to wait… **

**I'll write about ****Dino**** next chapter. Have a bit of writer's block on that character… I can't believe I wrote one whole chunk of weird stuff about Hibari D: **

**I kind of liked how this story became so Tsuna-centric LOL, but hey rest assured, more R27 coming haha, whether angst or fluff (both are good). **

**By the way, what's up with Reborn being jealous thing? Is there something in the previous chapter that made so many of you review that? Haha actually… If you looked carefully, Reborn was actually jealous of Lambo, heh. **

**Got the "What do you want?" "You." lines from Junjou Romantica. Cute, right? xD **


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